Monte Mathis, who directs defense, will be great coach, Dirk Nowitzki says

Dallas Morning News | Mar 20

The Mavericks' Monte Mathis is widely considered to be on the fast track of young, NBA assistant coaches.

Mathis, 44, who has been with the Mavericks for eight seasons in various capacities and now is Rick Carlisle's defensive coordinator, spent 11 seasons at the college level as an assistant coach at Xavier and Ohio State , where he was part of a Big Ten championship in 2002.